Board of Directors
Amanuel Kehasse, PharmD, PhD
President, Executive Committee Chair
Dr. Kehasse was born and raised in Eritrea. He earned his Bachelor of Pharmacy degree (BPharm) from University of Asmara, College of Health Sciences in 2003. Dr. Kehasse then joined the Orotta School of Medicine and served as an assistant lecturer of Biochemistry until 2005. At the same time, he served as the general secretary of Eritrean Pharmaceutical Association (ERIPA).
In 2005, he immigrated to the United States of America and earned his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in medical biochemistry from Boston University School of Medicine, Division of Graduate Medical Sciences in 2012. He then pursued his post-doctoral research fellowship at The Buck Institute -University of California San Francisco (UCSF). His research focused on post translational modification of proteins and biomarker discovery, and has published his research findings at American Journal of Pathology, Journal of Experimental Medicine and Oncotarget.
In 2015, Dr. Kehasse became a registered pharmacist (RPh) in the State of Massachusetts. He then pursued his Pharmacy studies at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) and earned his Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree in 2017.
Currently, Dr. Kehasse is an ambulatory clinical manager of Specialty Pharmacy services at Boston Medical Center, with special interest in clinical and outcomes research.
Mulugeta Russom, MSc., FISoP
Vice President, Research, Documentation and Professional Development Committee Chair
Mulugeta Russom is a pharmacist, pharmacoepidemiologist, and pharmacovigilance specialist with 10-plus years of experience in medical products regulation, health systems strengthening, project management, strategic planning, program review, and building a full-fledged pharmacovigilance system from scratch. He is head of the Eritrean Pharmacovigilance Centre and advisor to the WHO on Medicines Safety and COVID-19 therapeutics, and team lead of the Working Group B of the WHO member-states mechanism for combating substandard and falsified medical products.
Mulugeta is well-versed on investigation/evaluation of AEFIs, product quality defects, benefit-risk, implementation problems, quality management systems, and formulation of institutional development plans. He is an experienced medical writer and associate editor as well as reviewer/editorial board member in several international journals, and published 45+ scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals and four books in a local language. He is member of a dozen of international professional societies, consultant on medicines regulation and pharmacovigilance and an international trainer in signal management. Currently, he is completing his PhD in pharmacovigilance and pharmacoepidemiology from Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands and University of Bordeaux, France. Mulugeta has got the 2022-international fellowship award from the International Society of Pharmacovigilance for his outstanding contribution in advancement of the science and practice of pharmacovigilance.
Selamawit M. Ghebreamlak, BPharm, PhD
Cofounder, Secretary, Membership Committee Chair
Dr. Selamawit Ghebreamlak earned her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Asmara, Eritrea and her doctorate degree in Biochemistry from Auburn University, USA. She then pursued her postdoctoral fellowship at Auburn University. Dr. Ghebreamlak has extensive research, teaching, mentoring, organizational management and leadership skills and experience. She has invited presentations, abstracts, and poster presentations at major local and national scientific conferences. She was an active member of different committees in the Eritrean Pharmaceutical Association (ERIPA). Dr Ghebreamlak is one of the founding members of Eritrean Pharmacist Connections (EriPCo). She was a teaching assistant at the School of Pharmacy, Asmara College of Health Sciences, Eritrea.
Dr. Ghebreamlak is currently working as a chemist and quality assurance specialist with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries in Auburn, Alabama.
Dr. Ghebreamlak is passionate about helping organizations thrive by applying her strong program coordination skills and work ethic. Dr. Ghebreamlak is a hobbyist belly dancer, enjoys Latin dances, and teaches Tigrigna dances.
Almaz Dawit, PharmD
Finance Director, Finance and Fundraising Committee Chair
Almaz was born in Eritrea and moved to the United States in 1992. Almaz earned her bachelor degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from University of California San Diego in 1999 and obtained a doctorate degree from University of California San Francisco in 2003. She has practiced as a clinical pharmacist in hospital settings where she precepted pharmacy students in critical care and pharmacokinetics studies. Almaz has served as lead information technology pharmacist, owns and operates her own pharmacy and serves as vice president of pharmacy services in a brokerage firm. Almaz is passionate about pharmacy as a whole but even more so when it comes to helping advance the profession among Eritreans.
Samrawit Hagos, RPh.
Cofounder, Public Relations Officer, Communications and Public Relations Committee Chair
Samrawit is a registered pharmacist in the District of Columbia and Virginia with more than 7 years of experience in community pharmacy. Samrawit received her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from School of Pharmacy, Asmara College of Health Sciences, in 2010. She then started her career in Eritrea as a graduate assistant teaching pharmacy and pharmacy technician students variety of courses including pharmacology, dispensing pharmacy and laboratory practicum in medicinal chemistry.
Samrawit currently works as a retail pharmacist in Virginia. She is a consummate professional who continues to bring comfort and care to her patients and goes above and beyond to provide proper patient care. Samrawit is one of the founding members of Eritrean Pharmacist Connections (EriPCo), serving as a board member and Communications and Public Relations
Committee Chair since 2020.
Haikel Negash, RPh, MS.
Founder
Haikel is a pharmacist and health outcomes research consultant at EmcoHealth Consulting LLC. Prior to this, Haikel worked as a clinical pharmacist at UPMC and a pharmacy educator at Asmara College of Health Sciences. She is a passionate community organizer and has completed a leadership fellowship program. Haikel is the founder and current president of EriPCo and a member of the Massachusetts Pharmacist Association where she serves as a Government and Legislative Affairs Committee member.
Haikel graduated from Asmara College of Health Sciences with a BSc degree in Pharmacy in 2010 and from Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences of Union University with an MS degree in Health Outcomes Research in 2013.
In her spare time, Haikel enjoys translating and narrating well-loved English children’s books in her native language Tigrigna. She founded Qolahtakids, a community-led volunteer group that has a vision of empowering Eritrean kids to become thriving adults.
Abnet Ephrem, BPharm
Cofounder
Abnet is a pharmacist who graduated from the University of Asmara in 2007. She started her career as a graduate assistant and taught various courses including biochemistry, anatomy and physiology. She also designed and taught a medical terminology course at Asmara College of Health Sciences. Abnet attended the University of Zhengzhou in China for Masters in Pharmacology. She served in various committees in the Eritrean Pharmaceutical Association (ERIPA) and co-founded EriPCo. She moved to the United States of America in 2013. Abnet has extensive retail pharmacy experience and is currently working as a pharmacist in Milwaukee. Abnet likes reading, going to church and spending quality time with her family.
Tesfay Ghebremedhin, Pharmacist & Author
Mr Tesfay Menghis was born and raised in Eritrea. He finished his elementary and secondary school education in Eritrea. He joined the Haile Selassie 1st university in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1965 and graduated with a B. Pharm in 1970.
He went back to Eritrea and served his community as a pharmacist, in Cathedral Pharmacy for 46 years. He speaks Tigrinya, English, Amharic, Italian and Arabic.
He is a founding and senior member as well as a two-term vice-president and a one-term president of the Eritrean Pharmaceutical Association.
He has written brochures, posters, articles and public education materials in newspapers and the journal of the Eritrean Pharmaceutical Association. While in Eritrea, he has given lectures, presentations and conducted workshops and interviews on radio and television.
Since his arrival in the U.S in 2016, he has published two Tigrinya novels in 2019 and 2020 and two English books in 2022 & 2023.
He has conducted book signing events and conducted interviews on his books, on corona virus and on health and community issues with VOA, SBS, Erena, Ubuntu House, Rae Healthy living, Eri-Social Healing and other platforms.
Lidya Hagos
Lidya is a researcher currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, building upon graduation from Asmara College of Health Sciences in 2018 in Eritrea. Passionate about research, particularly in women and often-overlooked populations, Lidya envisions contributing meaningful insights to advance our understanding of health in these diverse contexts. This journey signifies a commitment to making a lasting impact in both the academic and global health spheres.
Sirak Tesfamariam, BPharm
Sirak Tesfamariam is a pharmacist, clinical and public health researcher, and medical products regulator. He is currently working as an acting head of the Product Evaluation and Registration Unit of the National Medicines and Food Administration (NMFA), Eritrea. During his tenure, he led the unit in automating market authorization processes to ensure efficient medical product registration system.
Previously, he worked as a hospital pharmacist in Nakfa Hospital and as an external assistant in Traditional Medicine Unit, NMFA, where he gained deep experience in patient counseling, rational use of medicines, and adverse drug reactions management. He is seasoned in designing, conducting, analysing, and interpreting both quantitative and qualitative study designs. His experience in research has produced publication of several research articles in peer-reviewed international journals.
Sirak has a strong can-do attitude, commendable communication skills, and can efficiently perform as an individual and in a team. A lover of volunteerism to serve communities, he hasbeen an active member of Eritrean Pharmaceutical Association (ERIPA), National Voluntary Blood Donors’ Association of Eritrea, Eritrean Pharmacists Connection (EriPCo), and a peer-reviewer in multiple international journals.
Sirak earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from Asmara College of Health Sciences in 2019.
Misghina Weldegiorgis, BPharm, MSc, PhD
Dr. Misghina Weldegiorgis is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Imperial College London, a Conjoint Lecturer at the University of New South Wales Sydney, an Honorary Research Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health, and an Honorary Public Health Academic at the UK Health Security Agency. His current research projects focus on the epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance.
Previously, he held two Postdoctoral Researcher positions. One was at Imperial College London where he investigated risk factors and pathways to the dominant forms of multiple long-term chronic conditions. And the second one was at the University of Oxford where his research projects evaluated modifiable social and clinical risk factors associated with the development and progression of chronic kidney diseases.
He completed his BSc degree in Pharmacy from the University of Asmara and then worked as a Pharmacist at Orotta National Referral Hospital and later on in various positions at the Ministry of Health in Eritrea before relocating to the Netherlands to pursue his academic interest. He was awarded a scholarship by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science, and completed his MSc degree in Epidemiology (specializing in Pharmacoepidemiology) at Utrecht University. Subsequently, he was awarded a fellowship by the Groningen University Institute for Drug Exploration and completed his Ph.D. entitled ‘Evaluation of renal endpoints in nephrology trials’.
Dr. Weldegiorgis is passionate about problem-solving which makes a positive impact on people’s lives. He is motivated to empower the next generation of young Pharmacists to aspire for greater ambitions through education and research.
Advisory Council
Amanuel Tseggai , PharmD
Dr. Amanuel Tseggai was born in Asmara, Eritrea, and currently resides in the United States of America. Dr. Amanuel obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Tennessee State University and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree from Mercer University School of Pharmacy. As a clinical pharmacist with 20 years of experience in hospital pharmacy, he’s actively involved in various clinical services including but not limited to oncology, cardiology, pharmacokinetics and cystic fibrosis. He also serves as a preceptor for 4th year PharmD students and provides in-service related to drug therapy to nurses and pharmacists. Dr. Amanuel enjoys playing soccer, music, reading and comedy movies.
Awet T. Weldemichael, Ph.D., LL.M.
Awet T. Weldemichael is an expert of contemporary Northeast African history and politics at Queen’s University in Canada. He has a Ph.D. in History and the LL.M. in Public International Law. He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada, College of New Scholars.
Brian Zweig, MBA.
Brian Zweig is the Principal of Business Opportunities Management Consulting, which helps organizations in developing business plans and identifying sources of funding, including securing grants. Prior to founding his own firm, Brian served as Executive Vice President of a marketing services business and he worked in product development and marketing.
In addition to his professional experience, Brian currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY and he also serves on the advisory board for the Zweig Memorial Fund for Equine Research at Cornell University. He is on the board of the Global Business Network of the Capital Region of New York, which promotes international commerce and he was a co-founder of an angel investment network that funded early-stage technology businesses. Previously, he served as President of a local land trust and he was also elected to one term on the Rensselaer County (NY) legislature.
Brian holds an MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College and a B.S. from Cornell University.
Hanna Haile, JSD, Esq.
Hanna is a lawyer and a gender specialist. Her expertise and research interests lie in the fields of human rights, sustainability, climate change and migration, gender and disaster risk management. She has extensive experience as a legal and policy analyst and researcher, providing services to universities, international organizations, governments and NGOs. Hanna was a Steinberg Postdoctoral Fellow at the McGill Center for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism. She holds a J.S.D. and an LL.M. from Cornell University and an LL.B. from the University of Asmara. She is a member in good standing of the New York State Bar.
Hibreniguss Terefe, Ph.D.
Hibreniguss holds a PhD. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and a Pharmacy Degree from Westfälische Willhelms-Universität Münster, Germany and was Fulbright Visiting Scholar at University of California, Berkeley.
Currently he is Director of Research and Development at Catalent Pharma Solutions in Somerset New Jersey, a global pharmaceutical contract research and manufacturing company. Prior to that he was V.P. of Research and Development at ExxPharma Therapeutics for 14 years Head of Department of Pharmacy at University of Asmara Eritrea for 9 years.
Hibreniguss is a research and development specialist with about 25 years of pharmaceutical industry and academic experience. He has broad experience in drug product development and is well versed in pharmaceutical regulatory affairs. His core area of expertise are solubility enhancement and twin-screw extrusion, a specialized pharmaceutical manufacturing process. He has extensive experience in product development of NCEs covering from Pre-clinical to Phase III clinical development stages using innovative drug delivery technology platforms including ANDA’s and 505(b)(2) using conventional and specialized pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies.
In 1996, joining the University of Asmara in Eritrea during the inception phase of its College of Health Sciences, he played a key role in the foundation of the various departments of the college. He led the establishment of the department of Pharmacy and chaired the department for nine years, progressively improving its curriculum and teaching/learning environment.
Hibreniguss is a co-inventor of three approved and two pending, and two provisional patents and has published several articles in scientific and professional Journals and a book chapter. He has a successful track record in establishing Pharmaceutical Research and Development Departments and has played a key role in establishing two Pharmaceutical companies.
Isaias Yemane Tesfalidet, LL.M
Isaias Yemane Tesfalidet is an international law expert with over 10 years of experience advising governments, private enterprises, law firms, NGOs and international organizations on issues relating to human rights and humanitarian law, laws of war, dispute settlement, protection of displaced persons and rule of law.
Isaias is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®). He earned a Master of Laws (LL.M) from Yale Law School and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from the University of Asmara Faculty of Law.
Kebreab Hailegiorgis, MA
Kebreab has a Master’s in Professional Counseling. He has been working as a coach and trainer at the University of Washington’s School of Social Work.
Kebreab is also the board Chairman of Eritrean Community Connections (ECC), a non for profit organization aimed at providing social, emotional and financial support to Eritrean refugees all over the world.
Kebreab is married to Ariam Tesfayesus and is a father of three children. Kebreab lives in the State of Washington, USA.
Yohannes Mehari, PhD
Dr. Yohannes Tesfamichael Mehari was born and raised in Eritrea. He graduated with a degree in Clinical Laboratory Sciences from University of Asmara. Then, he received his PhD in Molecular Biosciences from Middle Tennessee State University in 2016. As part of his doctoral work, he studied novel bacterial species and their interaction with eukaryotic cell nucleus. After grad school, he continued his scientific quest by taking a position as a post-doctoral fellow at Auburn University and studied medically important fungal species. To mention some of the highlights of his research work, Dr. Yohannes was an invited presenter as a young scientist at the 2015 American Society for Microbiology General Meeting. His research work has also been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals. Currently, Dr. Yohannes is working as a lecturer at Auburn University mainly teaching microbiology. In his spare time, Dr. Yohannes enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, and he also likes to play and watch soccer games.
Past Leadership
Ariam Isak , RPh, MSc.
Cofounder, Secretary 2020-2022
